School Business Management

Read more about how schools manage budgets, purchasing, facilities, transportation, and other school operations
Budget & Finance Reports Sharing Solutions: K-12 Administrators Weigh in on Strategic Resourcing
Based on a 2025 study, this whitepaper provides a roadmap for districts as they navigate purchasing processes amid economic uncertainty.
November 21, 2025
Image of school supplies falling into a shopping cart.
Antonio Solano/iStock
Budget & Finance Quiz Many District Leaders Fail to Think Strategically About Spending. What Gets in Their Way?
School districts face enormous pressure to make smart decisions when they’re buying academic resources.
Sean Cavanagh & Lynn (Yunfei) Liu, October 24, 2025
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1 min read
Illustration in blue of huge hands holding money as silhouette people run towards it.
iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance School Districts Prepare to Go Without Some Federal Funds Next Year
Some school finance chiefs are preparing for worst-case scenarios as federal funding uncertainty persists.
Mark Lieberman, October 23, 2025
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7 min read
Students wait to board Metro, Cincinnati’s public bus system, to ride to their second day of school on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Students wait to board Metro, Cincinnati’s public bus system, to ride to their second day of school on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Cincinnati, Ohio. There are many factors school districts must consider before switching to public transit.
Luke Sharrett for Education Week<br/>
Budget & Finance Why Some Districts Are Shifting Teens From School Buses to Public Transit
Cost, safety, and existing infrastructure are factors in determining whether a partnership with a local transit agency could save money.
Jennifer Igbonoba, August 21, 2025
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4 min read
Third-grader Fallon Rawlinson reads a book at Good Springs Elementary School in Good Springs, Nev., on March 30, 2022. For decades, there has been a clash between two schools of thought on how to best teach children to read, with passionate backers on each side of the so-called reading wars. But the approach gaining momentum lately in American classrooms is the so-called science of reading.
Third-grader Fallon Rawlinson reads a book at Good Springs Elementary School in Good Springs, Nev., on March 30, 2022. Many more states and districts are emphasizing evidence-based practices, including phonics, in reading programs. But the U.S. Department of Education's withholding of teacher-training funding could stymie some of those efforts.
Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP
Reading & Literacy Trump School Funding Freeze Has Some Districts Scrambling to Save 'Science of Reading' PD
Teachers need ongoing assistance to make difficult shifts in teaching reading. Some districts had counted on the withheld Title II funding.
Sarah Schwartz, July 17, 2025
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4 min read
Elizabeth Alonzo, pictured here working with 2nd grade student Maria Gonzalez de Leon at West Elementary in Russellville, Ala., on Dec. 9, 2022, is a bilingual aid at the school. Other students at the table are from left, Herlina Hernandez Guidel, Xavier Hooker, and Jaciel Felipe Matias.
Bilingual aide Elizabeth Alonzo works with 2nd grader Maria Gonzalez de Leon, along with classmates, from left, Herlina Hernandez Guidel, Xavier Hooker, and Jaciel Felipe Matias, at West Elementary School in Russellville, Ala., on Dec. 9, 2022. Supplemental staff such as aides and tutors can be funded through Title III, but those funds are currently frozen, leaving hiring decisions in limbo.
Tamika Moore for Education Week
English Learners Delayed Title III Funds Leave Districts' English-Learner Expenses in Limbo
The $890 million Title III program is among the billions the Trump administration is currently withholding from schools.
Ileana Najarro, July 16, 2025
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4 min read
A delivery from Turner’s Dairy is dropped off at Yarnick's Farm in Indiana, Pa., on June 4, 2025.
A delivery from Turner’s Dairy is dropped off at Yarnick's Farm in Indiana, Pa., on June 4, 2025.
Nate Smallwood for Education Week
School & District Management Video How Federal Cuts Are Affecting School Meals and Local Farmers
Elimination of the $660 million Local Food for Schools grant means less fresh food for students, and a financial hit for local farmers.
Olina Banerji & Jaclyn Borowski, June 26, 2025
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1:28
Dan Yarnick inspects produce at Yarnick's Farm in Indiana, Pa., on June 4, 2025. The farm is one of a number of local providers who partnered with Pittsburgh Public Schools to provide students with fresh fruits and veggies.
Dan Yarnick inspects produce at Yarnick's Farm in Indiana, Pa., on June 4, 2025. The farm is one of a number of local providers who partnered with Pittsburgh Public Schools to provide students with fresh fruits and vegetables. These types of partnerships are in jeopardy with the cancellation of the Local Food for Schools program.
Nate Smallwood for Education Week
School & District Management No More Fresh Fruits and Veggies: Schools Grapple With Loss of Federal Funding
The Local Food to Schools program, which was canceled by the Trump administration, helped schools get fresh, local produce.
Olina Banerji, June 5, 2025
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7 min read
Stockyard BS
Student Well-Being & Movement Video How a School Has Changed Its Menu After Losing USDA Funds for Local Food
The loss of a USDA local food grant has forced menu changes at this rural Tennessee school district, and local farmers have lost business.
Lauren Santucci & Olina Banerji, May 29, 2025
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2:15
Students in Lynne Martin's 5th grade class study math using Chromebooks at Markham Elementary School in Oakland, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2019.
Students in Lynne Martin's 5th grade class study math using Chromebooks at Markham Elementary School in Oakland, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2019.
Paul Chinn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
IT Infrastructure & Management Schools Brace for Tariff-Related Price Increases of Chromebooks and iPads
School-issued devices in many districts need to be replaced, but rising prices could prevent those plans.
Lauraine Langreo, May 6, 2025
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6 min read
A triptych photograph of a stack of papers against a blue background, a school bus against a blue sky, and an excavator on a pile of dirt. There is yellow tape covering the entire 3 photos with the word TARIFFS and the American flag repeated on the tape.
Getty
Budget & Finance Trump's Tariffs Are Already Affecting Schools. Here's How
Higher prices due to tariffs are no longer theoretical for schools replacing technology—or even buying copy paper.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 30, 2025
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2 min read
Benjamin Franklin face from USD dollar banknote behind of torn paper with wording tariffs revealed.
Education Week and iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance Schools Are Already Seeing Higher Prices Due to Trump's Tariffs
Supplies that schools rely on are already becoming more expensive in some cases as a result of tariffs. They also cause broader uncertainty.
Mark Lieberman & Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 11, 2025
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7 min read
Idea, thinking out of the box, creativity and design background, banner, poster. Geometrical style vector design with light bulb, brain, pencil.
iStock/Getty Images
Budget & Finance From Our Research Center Some Districts Struggle to Align Their Spending With Instructional Needs
Some districts have more success than others using classroom-level insights to inform spending decisions, survey data show.
Mark Lieberman, February 6, 2025
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4 min read
Students wrap up their lunch break at Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Aug. 22, 2023.
Students wrap up their lunch break at Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque, N.M., on Aug. 22, 2023. Rising costs and staff shortages are squeezing school nutrition programs.
Susan Montoya Bryan/AP
School & District Management 3 Big Challenges School Lunch Programs Face as They Feed Students
School nutrition directors report problems with costs, supply shortages, and staffing.
Evie Blad, January 14, 2025
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4 min read
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